Also check out the blog discussing aerobic and anerobic energy systems originally posted by Katie Brown. Check out David Wahl's blogs... they are very good!

Grant

Megan,

check out www.athletikspecifik.com... This guy is great thorough back ground in sports physiology. he is a climber and a coach in Co from what I can gather.

Your packet is on the way.

Sorry it is taking so long.

Grant Walker

Megan,

Calorie counting programs are just estimates that can fluctuate a great deal as you know. You would think that they would estimate activity levels more acurately but these calculations, from what I understand are for the average person not the athlete. Your 1800 to 2200+ cals a day are just an estimate for that day. I would put in the greatest activity level possible for climbing days and put in moderate activity level for the active rest days.
I think you have it lined up. We don't realize how bad we are feeling until we do eat properly. I know for me, being a structural firefighter, I sometimes don't realize how tired I am until I get really rested or recover from a sickness. I work 24hrs shifts and sometimes only get 2-3hrs of sleep each shift. Our bodies are resilient but I usually find myself performing way below what I normally can when rested, Grades differently. Training, working and no sleep, children, too much to do...

Focus on a simple food pyramid solution: 2-4 fruits, 6-11 Complex carbs,3-5 veggies, 2-3 milk and cheese, 2-3 meats, fats,oils and sweets use sparingly. The important thing that I have found is to get a well rounded day of nutrients. I am more satisfied and feel better.

As far as eating and gaining weight. Our bodies, if not getting enough nutrients as a pattern will automatically tell itself to slow down its metabolism to preserve itself. So we end up not burning calories or losing weight. In these diets that limit certain nutrients we end up losing lean body mass instead of fat. Remember weight isn't the issue. If it is good weight and you feel strong at that weight what does it matter. Also, height and weight charts taken from insurance models are way off for our body types of the 2007 yr. American Heart Association tables say I am obese at 183 ( Potter would be proud of me) and say I should be at 165 at most!!!!! Ignore these tables- you already know this I am sure. Megan, are you strong- stay at that weight and just figure out your food intake for rest days and working days!!!

Once we set and establish healthy patterns of eating- for you two and my wife and I it sometimes means forcing ourselves to eat something every couple hrs, example, a piece of bread , an apple and a carrot ( Veggie group, grain group, and a fruit), and water- 8-16 fl oz. We try 6 meals a day. every time before you cast off to do a pitch make yourself sip some water and eat a little something. Oh yeah, the point is establish healthy eating patterns and then our metabolism should come up ( may take two weeks to a month ) because your body isn't constantly assuming it will be starved of nutrients!!!!

As for your back. this is actually my area of expertise. I work as a peer fitness trainer with the Anchorage Fire Department. Our Primary goal focus is to help eliminate back injuries by strengthening the core complex as it ties into the hip, upper body complexes. We have a whole host of exercises/streches that help with rehab. We have also, at our rock gym, as have other athletes ( elite around the world) transferred these rehab concepts into elite athletic training core concepts to get that much more out of our climbing. Once a week we have 30+ climbers skiiers, and bikers do an hr of core training and stretching. I know for me it has helped me climb at least 3 letter grades harder- it makes it more fun, I don't have to work as hard! If you are interested I will try to send some information.

I will pray for your quick recovery

Grant Walker
Laus Deo

Megan,

Wow that is great you get out so much. Sounds like you have a great varied sports background as well to know your body.

I did some research and want to see what you think. In some resources they say that as a minimum a person should not go below 1200-1500 cals a day. With your petite form and exhaustive training regime you would need more. this Cloric need will only meet you Basal metabolic need ( normal body functions ). I am in the same boat, I am about 6-8% body fat and have little reserve to fight off infection, build muscle and recover appropriately if I don't eat right. I also tend to not eat instead of over eat. I just don't get hungry. But what our body does when there is no reserve can be harmful. A state of Ketosis occurs which allows the blood acid levels to increase. It is caused by the breakdown of fatty acids used for energy when carbohydrates are not available. The brain needs glucose as an energy source. What this means to you and me is that from this high acidic blood associated symptoms can be nausea, dizziness, irritability (chapter 3 Peer Fitness Trainer Reference Manual, pg 51 ). The body basically eats it self to maintain normal functions of the brain.

So, for you, my wife and I, whom are on the border of performance and health need to stay on top of things. This is, as you know, one possible variable that could be affecting you. We have to make sure we eat and rest.

Age: My wife and I are in our forties ( yikes ) and our transition into this are of our life has made us smarter. Workout intensity is still very high but we have doubled our rest days and it seems to help. Perhaps if this isn't possible varying your intensity may help from day to day.

I have been searching for correlations in allergy/tendonitis but have not found anything. But it could be as simple as GI irritation as a result of Lactose intolerance. When the lactase enzyme which breaks down lactose in the stomcah is missing, the lactose will, as it passes, irritate the intestines. This irritation may cause you not to eat and drink to get proper nutrients again. It could be much more complex depending on the other variables you have encountered during this time. Lacking the lactase enzyme is a bummer but we jsut make adjustments. I know Tendons require good intake of H20 and need to be warm to perform. A good warm up and warm down- as you know and proper nutrients are things to tackle first.

The tight rope of being super fit and busy craggers ect.. make it super hard to get the nutrients you need. just be focused and work together to figure it out. It may take some time. Organics and Nutrient density/quality is a whole different topic, but my wife and I seldom eat processed hydrogenated foods. This is another avenue to seek out information and make decisions on.

I love the creek and have been there 3-4 times.

Take care to the both of you,

Grant Walker
Laus Deo

Megan,

I have thought of a couple of things that I do, given the huge amount of information out there; to keep things simple:

1. fad diets are dangerous and don't allow athletes to maintain enough nutirents to sustain body metabolism and growth. Every caloric nutrient is important for the body to maintain itself- this includes fat. A simple process is to use the food pyramid for referenced eating, serving size and % caloric nutrient intake. For example the Food pyramid suggests 50-60% of intake should come from Carbohydrates, and from this ~ 10% should only come from simple sugar. Become a label reader. FATS~ 20-30% of your diet should be from fats ( this in take requirement is specific in Nutrition for sport blog).
PROTEIN- ~ 15% of your diet or 1.0 to 2.0 grams of fat per body Kilo. Somewhere in the middle would be right for a climber~ endurance athletes after ~90 minutes of exercise require ~ 10 grams of protein per hr of exercise, and body builders an strength athletes have more muscle to maintain, thus the higher end ( generally speaking). 4 to six meals a day is better than two.

I also pay specific attention to the Golden hr ( see Nutrition for sport Blog) after each work out it is recommended that we intake 50-100 grams of carbohydrate and 10-40 grams of protein. This helps with immediate recovery and building.

Recovery days are recommended to be active. run, walk, ride and stretch. Some studies show that recovery occurs up to 25% faster when this is done. Nutritional and physiological components of recovery are synergistic perhaps if not at least dependent on each other. Some times I get caught into not eating if I don't have something healthy at hand. It is better to eat a little of something not as good than not eating at all.

Intensity- increased intensity increased duration of active rest. Most elite trainers and athletes are recognizing the need for appropriate rests and rest phases. I just think about how much harder (or perhaps at least without injury) Dave Graham will climb when he dials this aspect of training in- unlimited potential.

Listen to your body- sometimes hunger will continue if you don't give it what it needs and only receives what we like. Veggies, grains, legumes, some meat ( or if vegan) pay attention to the need for a Ferrous iron suppliment) Ferron- is an Iron carrier that is found in red meat. It actually helps in the transport of iron. I can't remember if it is in absorbtion or in transport that it plays its role- huh, another venue to check out and learn about. Being a female this may help as well. For me I do add a lean steak once a week. Get some!!! From all the food groups. The food pyramid makes it easy to assess and account for what you need in a day.

hope this helps,

please let me know how this works with your findings

Grant Walker

Hey, great photos!!!!!

take a look at sportsweb under recovery.

www.time-to-run.com/training/articles/recovery.htm This has a general summary of the ideas for recovery and exercises.

Grant Walker

Hey Megan. I feel your frustation and share with you the desire to learn more about my own physiology and what is required to recover more quickly. A great starting point is Eric Horst's book called "Training for Climbing, The definitive guide to improving your climbing performance". He has devoted a whole chapter on "Accelerating Recovery". It is excellent. My short presentation on "Performance Nutrition" listed in my Blog under the same name was derived from ACE ( American Council on excercise).IF you want a more concise copy of this I can send it to you in hard copy. The other blogs that I have written have web pages that are great starting places to get in the knowledge of nutrition and physiology- cutting edge research and findings related to this topic.

To go on here would just repeat what Horst clearly states. Google Eric Horst and seek out his web site. He references all his information so you can go find original sources.

Reliable sources are registered dieticians and sports physiologist. Is the author writing in their field of expertice? google and find research in progress on many topics that have to do with recovery. I noticed a guest book entry to you on over use injuries, I have some great resources on this topic as well. See Blog and ISBN # for the book titled "One Move To Many".

then let me know what you find and what works for you. We will bounce ideas off each other and compare notes.

get hungry and curious and I will do the same,

Grant Walker

Boy I hear ya on the overuse injuries I can't seem to escape them:( I am from La Crosse, WI it is in the southwest on the mississippi river. I might give you a shout if I try to come down to climb as my friend might not be available due to her work schedule? If you come up to WA or OR give a shout as well!